Final chapter for woman whose skull was found in a Batavia wall

The final chapter of what happened to the person whose skull was found behind a wall in Batavia in 1978 is complete. Her identity confirmed as Esther Ann Granger Peck, who died in Indiana in 1866, and her DNA profile led to her great-great-grandson.

“This case started many years before it was made known to us, and it is an example of great teamwork,” Kane County Coroner Rob Russell said at a news conference Thursday at his office in St. Charles.

On Nov. 12, 1978, James Skinner knocked down a wall at his home, 239 E. Wilson St., and found a skull between the studs of the wall.

“Mr. Skinner immediately called the Batavia Police Department and an investigation was started,” Russell said. “At that time, DNA and genealogical records were not as advanced as they are today, so options were limited.”

Still, Batavia police called in national laboratories, museums, colleges and universities to try to identify the skull.

“The most that could be obtained at that time was from a university professor who surmised that the skull was from a young woman around age 20,” Russell said. “It was also determined that the skull was from someone prior to 1900.”

Batavia searched records for missing persons, but could not find any more information.

Then on March 10, 2021, during an audit of the Batavia Depot Museum’s collection, staff found the skull.

They called police, who took custody of it.

Russell said police turned it over to his office to continue the investigation.

As the incident was over 40 years old, Russell said he gave it to his Cold Case Investigative Team, where Deputy Coroner Gabriela Allison was the lead investigator.

Genetic genealogy

“I started the Cold Case Investigative Team in July of 2015 to review old cases in response to citizens who had legitimate questions and concerns in relation to previous equivocal death rulings,” Russell said.

His office became aware of Othram Laboratories Inc. in Texas that used a relatively new technique called Forensic Investigative Genetic Genealogy, which could be done on decades old material.

“This is the same procedure that was used to catch the Golden State Killer in 2018,” Russell said.

Genetic genealogy identified Joseph DeAngelo as the Golden State Killer, who pleaded guilty to 13 murders and 50 rapes. He is currently serving 11 consecutive life terms at Corcoran State Prison in California.

“Othram had already solved over 100 cases across the country,” Russell said. “If (this process) could solve these cases, maybe a profile could be established for ours.”

Othram confirmed it could obtain DNA from the skull and if they could obtain a genetic profile and run it through their database, family members could be found.

Russell used crowdfunding to raise $7,500 to pay for the testing.

Within weeks, the profile yielded a match, leading to her identity: Esther Ann Granger Peck.

“Esther was born on Oct. 26, 1848, in Indiana,” Russell said. “In 1865, at 16 years old, she married Charles Granger, and after a few months, became pregnant with their first child. In May of 1866, Peck gave birth to a baby girl, but lost her life soon after, due to complications from childbirth.”

Her husband named the child Esther, like her mother.

Peck was buried in Merrillville, Ind.

A great-great-grandson

Othram’s genetic profile also led to her great-great-grandson, Wayne Svilar, 69, of Camus, Washington, who submitted his DNA for confirmation.

“When Gabriela called us back in April ... we didn’t believe a word of it,” Svilar said.

Svilar is a retired police sergeant from the Portland Police Department. In 2004, he was part of a team cold case team there, and now works cold cases for the Multnomah County District Attorney’s Office in Portland.

“What convinced me that this was not some well-organized scam was their passion for their work and just the commitment they had for what they were doing,” Svilar said. “And the respect that they’ve shown us, my family, in this process has been incredible.”

Forensic artist Natalie Murry drew what Peck looked like based on a 3D replica of her skull, created by 3D Resin Solutions in South Elgin.

Svilar said the drawing bears a resemblance to his own mother.

Michael Vogen, Othram’s director of account management, said the company built the first private laboratory in North America exclusively for forensic science. Using DNA markers, the company creates genetic profiles, puts them in data bases and connects families, he said.

“And that’s what we did in this case,” Vogen said. “I want to thank all these folks for trusting us to assist. And we are happy with the outcome.”

From Indiana to Batavia

But the question remains, if she died in 1866 in Indiana, how did Peck end up in a wall of a house in Batavia, Russell asked. “We will never definitely know, exactly, but with records and good reasoning, we’ve come to a common sense theory: We believe Esther was a victim of grave robbing.”

Grave robbing was common and profitable, as a properly stolen corpse could yield three to four months of earnings in one go – as opposed to an average person working 60-hour weeks in the field, Russell said.

While law enforcement did not pursue grave robbers, vigilantes – many of them family members of robbed graves – did.

Riots occurred across the country in response to grave robbing incidents – including one in St. Charles in 1849 in an incident known as Richard’s Riot, Russell said.

Peck was laid to rest Aug. 22, 2024 in a columbarium at West Batavia Cemetery, donated by the city of Batavia, with Svilar in attendance.

“If you ever want to go and visit Esther, she ... does have a plaque with her name on it,” Russell said. “So she is forever now a Batavia resident. She’s a resident of heaven probably, but at least physically, a resident of Batavia. And that’s appropriate, since she spent so much time here.”

Russell said he had one last announcement: “Today is my birthday. I wanted to do this on my birthday because I wanted to give back to the community on my birthday.”